point do you actually see this going to trial? i do not suspect there will be a settlement, an out-of-court settlement between donald trump and prosecutors. >> there have been out-of-court settlements of investigations a senior official before. i work for bill clinton come when he left office he made a deal to deal -- to do with the monica lewinsky investigation where he losses long -- law license. i think there will be a real order, time consuming things that take place in a regular trial. normally it is the defendant want to slow things down. in this case, maybe donald trump will not want to do that and want to speed things up for his own political agenda. facing real legal jeopardy that is going to matter a lot. >> we are breaking away from our simulcast of new york 1 returning to d.c. to get your

reaction to an historical first. an indictment of a former u.s. president. now the potential indictment by the new york grand jury remains sealed, and the next step in this legal process is unclear, but at this early stage we want to get you reaction to the indictment a former president trump. you can see the lines on the screen. democrats, you can dial in at -- republicans 748-8921. all others, 748-8922. you can also participate on our social media site. just remember @c-span is tag. let's recap what has happened this afternoon. this is the "wall street journal." grand jury votes to indict donald trump. the grand jury has voted to

indict donald trump trump for his role in paying harsh money for poor and star on the eve of the 2016 election according to people familiar with the matter, marking the first time in american history a former president has faced criminal charges. the grand jury returned the indictment of trump after a vote today. the people said, kicking off the process in which the former president will likely be required to new york to face charges. the indictment held by the manhattan district attorney alvin bragg is not public. the wall street journal goes on to write "the case is far from a sure bet. mr. bragg's predecessor each passed on charging mr. trump and a standalone case related to the hush money, but if the case goes to trial, a conviction would almost certainly require a jury to credit the testimony of former trump attorney

michael cohen who pleaded guilty to an array of federal felonies, among them a finance offense for the poor and star payment as well of charges of lying to a bank and to congress. former president trump put out a statement. here it is. " this is political persecution and election interference of the highest level in history. from the, came down the golden escalator at trump tower and before i was sworn in as your president of the united states, the radical left democrats, the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this country, have been engaged in witch hunt to destroy the movement. you remember just like i do. russia, russia, russia. the muller hoax. ukraine, ukraine, impeachment hoax one, impeachment hoax two, the illegal mar-a-lago raid and now this. the democrats have lied, cheated

and stolen in their obsession with trying to get trump but now they have done the unthinkable -- indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant election interference. never before in our nations history has this been done. the democrats have cheated countless times over the decades including spying on my campaign, the weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent who happens to be a president of the united states and by far the leading republican candidate for president has never happened before. ever. the present goes on to write." alvin bragg, who was handpicked and funded by george soros is a disgrace. rather than stopping the crime wave taking over new york city, he's doing joe biden's dirty work, ignoring the murders and burglaries and assaults he should be focused on. this is how bragg spends his

time. i believe this witch hunt will backfire massively on joe biden. the american people realize exactly what the radical left democrats are doing. everyone can see it. so our movement and our party united and strong will first defeat alvin bragg and then we will defeat joe biden and we are going to throw every last one of those crooked democrats out of office a week in make america great again." that statement came out about 6:30 this afternoon. the district attorney alvin bragg sent a tweet. and this came out an hour later. quote "this evening we contacted mr. trump's attorney to coordinate his surrender to the manhattan d.a. for arraignment on the supreme court indictment which remains under seal. guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected." now to your voices and opinions. james in boca raton, florida,

independent line. what do you think about this? caller: i'll tell you what i think. i think governor desantis, lead er kevin mccarthy, ought to come out with a statement, this is nothing but a witch hunt. anyway, this is going to make his campaign a lot better. host: let's hear from carol in fort river, new jersey, good evening to you. caller: how are you? this is the first time i've ever called in. biden just went on and i agree with him 100%. thank you very much. host: that was carol in new jersey. charles is up next, a democrat in lakewood, washington. what is your view of this? caller: my view of it is that it is going to be, good financing

for him because he will use social media to play it out. i'm pretty sure it is the best thing we should do as americans is listen to the evidence. let's see where it takes it, if he is guilty, he will be found guilty. if innocent, he will be found innocent. there something about democrats are crooked, that is just bull. he committed a crime, let him do the time. host: thanks for calling in. enzo, another democrat, and brooklyn. -- in brooklyn. >> hello, hi, yes. i guess you would not know the way i feel about this indictment of donald trump. and i'm very happy that the justice, it took its course because if i did something like this i would go to jail immediately. so why not? he is not above the law. i'm glad the justice to the right thing to do to indict him. guilty. host: has this been a topic of

conversation among your friends, colleagues in brooklyn? caller: oh, no, of course, there are so many different opinions. but, honestly, the truth is the truth. i can't believe it, i got so many friends that are completely blind about this individual. because i do not want to: present. -- call him president. i call him criminal. host: that is enzo and brooklyn. patrick is next, independent line, goldsboro, north carolina. what is your view of the indictment of former president trump? caller: well, i think that the grand jury is supposed to do their job and the prosecutors worked with him, they have two or three more investigations going on. i think if the grand jury did

its job, as citizens we ought to wait and see what the final outcome is to be. and we don't know -- we'll know for sure whether or not he is innocent until proven guilty. which is -- let the law go about it have, whether it's, like georgia election interference or obstruction of justice without january 6th or whether it is the documents, all these cases are going on. let the, just wait and let the law and the prosecutors do their jobs. they got evidence. of wrongdoing, they have an indictment -- we'll just have to wait and see. host: thank you for calling in. mike, in north carolina as well. hi, mike. republican line. caller: good evening. this is absolutely political

interference and it's new york. it is just like any trial that goes against a conservative maga, you want to call it that. anybody that's, you know, in, like washington, d.c., they will find the democrats not guilty. they will find republicans guilty. this is george soros funded d.a. and everybody knows that this is a crooked, crooked trial what is going on. why -- why don't they move the jury trial to some were not as liberal as new york,, l.a, chicago, d.c. this is absolutely ridiculous. and how many other politicians like john edwards, how, even bill clinton, the bimbo squad that smeared anybody that

accused bill clinton, bill clinton paid them off. this is an absolutely two tier system of justice and it starts with merrick garland. he wants revenge on republicans because he thinks he was entitled to the supreme court justice seat, which he did not get. he's going after every american conservative, especially if they voted for trump. host: and that is mike in north carolina on the republican line. governor desantis, our first caller mentioned governor desantis and governor desantis sent out this tweet. "the weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. it is un-american. the soros backed manhattan district attorney has consistently been the law to excuse cronus misconduct. -- excuse columbus content.

-- excuse criminal misconduct. - given the questionable circumstances at issue, with this soros-backed manhattan prosecutor and has a political agenda." that is governor ron desantis of florida. in forked river, new jersey. elizabeth, are you with us? caller: yes, i am. i wish they would stop. persecuting donald trump he has done nothing wrong. they don't want to seem as the next president of the united states, because he is the only one that can straighten out this country. and get rid of the swamp. in washington. they are afraid of him. and this is nothing but a police state, it's getting to be, like they say a banana republic. it's terrible. the democrats want to fuin -- rui our country, george soros with his money also and everyone else. it is terrible. host: next up is rick in

montgomery, texas. caller: yes, sir. yeah, i say let the justice department do its job. everybody stop interfering. let the justice department, we have separation of powers in this country. regardless, -- bush kicks it back to the states and now they want to get involved in a state issue. you know, and by the way, desantis, i do not give any credence to what descendant says because soros will pick desantis over trump already. and desantis is soros' horse in this race. yes, they need to prosecute him. i'm tired of the dog and pony show. i'm tired of all of this crazy stuff going on and washington has got to stop on both sides. host: that is rick in montgomery texas,. a reminder, if you get to turn down the volume of your tv. you will be able to hear

everything through your phone and we get little bit of a delay. ed, stockbridge, georgia, independent line. what do you think of the indictment of former president trump caller: i tell you, i had to tape-record the newscast because i think it is phenomenal. it is an historical, and i used to be a democrat. i am tired of them spending so much money. i like biden. he got us to the pandemic. you know, he's thinking ahead. i'm a retired teacher, and teachers, five, six, seven years ahead when they start to planning on the curriculum or whatever part of the school system you are dealing with. trump just shoots from the hip. i don't call it maga. i call it maggot. that lady from new jersey could not be more wrong because i am a native new yorker. my winter home in metro atlanta.

but this is the least of his worries is the new york trial. he has got four trials coming on. all -- republican or democrat president are reasonably thinking man, you know? and you do not have to use violence. he wanted to overthrow the government. he wants to be the dictator. i could understand people voting the first time for trump over hillary. even at that time as a democrat i did not think too much of hillary, although i love bill. i didn't want hillary as president. to vote for trump a second time, these people got to be nuts. just a reasonable being. you want to get rid of-- a reasonable human being. you want to get rid of nato. donald trump is the one that signed the papers that he was supposed to be pulled out of

there before, months and months before biden. the 20 year war. but, that is really something, you know. i just, i -- i don't care if he goes to jail. i do not want to see him run again. host: that is ed in georgia. on truth social, a lot of the republicans are making comments on that site, including steve scalise, the majority leader of the house. quote "the sham new york indictment of president donald trump as one of the theorist examples of extremist democrats weaponizing government to attack the political opponents. outrageous. here is what conner smith's police -- what congressman's n scalise says. caller: i think trump is a great person, he gives to a lot of charities and i think he is a

goodhearted man and he does love this country -- host: we'll leave it there and talk to patrick in new york. independent line. patrick, good evening to. -- to you. caller: yes, good evening. first of all i want to say the -- to the guy from georgia, he does not sound like a new yorker. i'm born and raised in new york, ok? and i'm a registered independent. i'm 68 years old and it is a disgrace. this is a witch hunt. they are going after this man because they do not want him to run for president. it is a disgrace. this country, the media is on their side. i mean, look at the economy, they are going out boasting like they are doing a great job. you got everything out there is so expensive, they are killing energy, cost so much in transport goods, everything goes up. host: give us in 10-seconds of

this indictment- your opinion of this indictment. caller: it is horrible. host: we got it. thank you, patrick. a democrat in houston, texas. hi, janine. caller: hi, how are you doing? i'm here. can you hear me? host: we're listening. caller: i'm going to say this, i am -- from day one. it's just really remarkable to people who do not believe this. trump, i mean, listen, this has been going on before he was president. a lot of these things going on. not because he was president. [indiscernible] this is something that has been already falling, it was -- it was the pandemic. all these theories of they are trying to indict him, take him down, it is not true. he's trying to turn everyone

against him. everyone else against democrats and same oh, these democrats, it is a witch hunt. it is not. he has always done these things. like him or-- or not, right is right and wrong is wrong. -- he has done a lot of things that is not good. it is remarkable that all these republicans are saying -- str ong. they are the ones that are ripping our democracy apart. they know, first of all, everybody has their day in court, he has not had his day in court yet. this is nothing new. it is not new. what he did, i am not the judge, but everyone is to have to calm down and wait until the indictment -- and let him do what he has to do because all of this right now. he's fundraising and it is

really sad, that people are brainwashed and taken advantage of and they are giving him money thinking they are helping out -- in my opinion, and fundraising on him, and play the victim. this is something that already was done, it is nothing new. host: that is janine in houston. and to build off what she was talking about, in the new york times, here are the legal intricacies that can make the break the case against trump. "it is the kind of case that emboldens prosecutors and mesmerizes jury -- a celebrity defendant organizing a secret payoff to cover up a tryst with a porn star. the former president is facing a daunting set of facts. his one time fixer michael cohen will testify that mr. trump directed them to pay off stormy daniels and that the former

president reimbursed mr. cohen and helped cover the whole thing up. but salacious details alone do not make a case. prosecutors must also work within the law, and the district attorney, alvin bragg, may have to pull off a difficult maneuver connecting the hush money cover-up, the potential violation of state law, to a federal election. the indictment is sealed for now, meaning its contents are not yet known. mr. bragg could have charged any number of -- but there is a possibility that the case relies on a legal theory that has never been evaluated by a judge. the new york times reviews and interviews with election law experts strongly suggest that new york state prosecutors have never before filed an election law case involving a federal campaign. bringing an untested case

against anyone, let alone a former president, -- a court co;uld throw out or narrow the case. the case could hinge on the way that mr. trump and his company, the trump organization, handle reimbursing mr. cohen for the payment to miss daniels. internal trump organization records classified them as legal expenses which help conceal the purpose of the payments, according to mr. cohen who said mr. trump knew about the mieang records. mr. trump's lawyers denyha in new york, falsifying business records can be a crime, and mr. bragg's office may have bent its case around that charge according to outside legal experts and people with knowledge of the matter." again, this is a take by "the new york times" in today's paper. the call-- caller is in las

vegas. that evening. what is your opinion about this indictment? caller: good evening. my opinion is that it is a sad and malevolent day and united states america. a past president has been indicted on criminal charges, but yet these celebrities and politicians who participated -- are still un-indicted. neither is president biden for his actions against tara reid. it is just a sad day in our country. this needs to go both ways. if they're going to indict trump , they need to indict all the rest of the criminal politicians as well, the whole system is corrupt and needs to be overthrown. we need a new system. host: are you a supporter of president trump? caller: i support anybody for the people.

i believe he did the best that he could, he went to war with republicans and democrats, and he tried to do right by the people. i believe the stimulus money that he gave us was the money that was due to the people every year. biden came back in and gave it back to the fortune 500 companies. he rani this country like a business, what it is, and i respect him for that, but if you're going to call a kettle b lack you have three fingers pointing back at you and i believe that -- especially of children is a far far more intense crime than this witch hunt that they're doing with trump. it is a shame. it is political motivated. if they're going to indict him, i would like to see the rest of the politicians and celebrities indicted. host: in las vegas. steve is next in westfield, new jersey. democrat. go ahead, please. caller: what's disturb me most

about the indictment -- has been the last -- [no audio] hour of listening to a large group of people who are so certain they know the details of the case. they know what should be done with former president trump and what should not be done or who is behind the indictment. there's, and what disturbs me about all of these people speaking about things they could not possibly know is that i'm not a trump supporter in any way. quite the contrary, but i want this man to have a fair trial. listening to the callers who come to it with such certainty and, and ignorance about things, the kind of ignorance that i have because i don't know

much of the evidence presented, either. it really makes me worry about the future of our ability to have a democratic system with the presumption of innocence and careful consideration of evidence, rather than simply a bunch of people screaming and yelling about this being a wtich -- witch hunt. let this be a democracy and let people sort of withhold this certainty that is going to, actually poison the atmosphere in which they supposedly want their former president, i don't consider him my former president, but they wanted to have a fair trial. they're in the middle of poisoning public opinion in a way that is going to complicate that. so, i just want us to be fair. presumption of innocence, focus

-- ready to give a fair trial. period thank you, sir for calling in. gary, in milton, pennsylvania.what is s your this indictment? caller: i think it is a sad day in america. the democrats have been trying to get trump out of office the four years that he was president and spent how many billions of dollars trying to get them impeached. and -- get him impeached. it is time for people in america to wake up and see what is going on. i watched nancy pelosi's speech. they just hated trump all of them, schumer and a whole bunch of them and it is so sad to see that. i don't ever remember another president, i've seen jimmy carter what he went through and what he did. i mean if they're going to get trump for this they need to go back and get carter and some of

the other ones and clinton. i mean, bill clinton. he paid off people in there, it's just sad to see. i just hope that like the lady said before me that people can come together and work to make america great again, because a least when trump was in there i could afford to guy -- to buy and egg and make a sandwich. i am retired at 66 and have to go back to work because the last two years the president we have been there took the -- energy subsistence away and everything went up, inflation everything. host: thank you for sharing your view with us. senator chuck schumer, the majority leader and the senate, democrat, new york, put out this statement. "mr. trump is subject to the same laws as every american's, he will be able to avail himself of the legal

system and the jury, not politics to determine his fate according to the facts and law. there should be no outside political influence, intimidation, or interference in the case. i encourage both mr. trump's critics and supporters to let the process proceed peacefully and according to the law." sid is up next from boston, democrat. good evening. caller: good evening. i think this is definitely a step in the right direction with the rise of fascism and nationalism in our country. and -- to holding president trump to task, have legal consequences for one of the many things he has done to harm the american people. but to think that there are so much more work to be done to repair -- what many other people have done to our country. and to move our country forward in the right director. host: can i ask how long you have been following politics? caller: since i was about seven years old. host: and how old are you now?

caller: i am in ninth grade. host: ninth grade. do you study politics in school? is this a topic of conversation in your school? caller: yeah, we do current events. we're currently doing global studies. try to stay educated on it myself and we do have discussions in school. host: are there a variety of opinions in your class in boston? caller: i'd say definitely we have two sides debates and we have to prepare both sides and he tried to look at all perspectives. we do look at the law and look at the history of our country and see how we can be better as a people. i definitely think that we hear both sides. host: you are in ninth grade and as "the new york times" writes "the facts of this case are may a little salacious." is this something that gets discussed in your school? caller: i don't say that we have

salacious or inappropriate discussions. we definitely have not had discussions about the indictment yet. this is very recent news. but we talk about politics in general. leaders being held accountable. i do not think -- this being brought against trump has been brought up in school. host: thanks for watching. nancy is up next, in north carolina, republican, good evening to you. hey, nancy. i'm going to put you on hold. could you turn down the volume of your tv? you get a little bit of feedback up here, a little confusing sometimes. thomas. pine level, north carolina, republican. hi, thomas. caller: where was senator schumer when hillary clinton was deleting 33,000 emails -- host: tell you what, let's get your reaction to what happened today, the indictment of former president trump, ok?

caller: ok, the fdc did not charge them with a crime, the attorney general merrick garland said there was nothing there. the former prosecutor in new york said nothing was there. this is purely political, and it is outside the statue of limitations. so, when this goes to court, the first thing the trump team is going to play is a video of mr. bragg saying, i am going to get trump. i'm going to get trump. that was his first priority. he is not out here thanking police officers, who charge people -- he's not enforcing prostitution. these agreements go on everyday of the week, tens of thousands, number one. and number two, you got a convicted felon who has been to prison, he's your star witness? it's going to fall apart. it is all purely political. host: thank you for calling in.

a reminder that we are spending this hour taking your views and listening to your opinions about the indictment of former president trump, an historical first. the indictments remain sealed. the next steps are still unclear. as alvin bragg said in his tweet. and we have been simulcasting new york one news as well. we may be returning to that. it is on the website, c-span.org, in case you would like to listen to new york one news there. craig, west virginia, independent line. you are on c-span. caller: i have a couple of questions. on what the people have been talking tonight. one of the problems as they watch too much fox news. if they are going to get misguided, that is the station to do it. also, back in the situation where trump is indicted, he should be.

i'm amazed that he has been -- two impeachments. i haven't figured out he controlled his -- this january 6th deal. yes, this man does need to spend some time in jail. host: being from west virginia, is that an unpopular opinion in your circles? caller: that is a good question, because most are republicans and i was a republican. till everything up there in helsinki, putin and took putin over our own intelligence agency. all four of us that were sitting there at the time, we said, l hell, no." excuse my french. it's going to take korea, china, he's not going to negotiate. his best friends. and then expect people --no.

he's got putin, i'm not sure what the problem is going on -- it's all coming up where, he ran into a corner, he cannot get out of it. and this is the -- just the beginning of the iceberg. i'm waiting for georgia to come down on him. apparently no one wants to see the facts. i'm a fact checker. i watch things very carefully. to be an independent, i will probably vote republican this time around but if he is running for office and gets elected, i'm sorry, i could not vote for this man. host: that is craig in west virginia. this is connor in milwaukee, independent line. caller: good evening, sir. i'm just more annoyed about the whole thing. we keep having to talk about donald trump. in a way that people do not think this is political. but i think the biggest thing

that i have been noticing is that this new position that, well, if someone has done something wrong, they are charged. that is the way it is in this country. that is how we do things. that is not how we do things. -- a surprising position coming from what i thought would be progressives, would have prosecutorial discretion in this country. this was a prime example of this if he does what merrick garland was suggesting. frankly, donald trump probably did everything that they said he did. that does not mean we prosecute and bring it back to the limelight. in the end, probably make him more popular than he would have been otherwise. host: so you think it is the nomination, the republican national convention is your city in milwaukee, this next year. caller: i will be there. host: thanks for calling in. kevin mccarthy, speaker of the house tweet. " alvin bragg has irreparably

damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our presidential election. as he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public him he weaponized our sacred system of justice against president donald trump. the american people will not tolerate this injustice. and the house of representatives will hold alvin bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account." heidi is in mt. joy, pennsylvania, on our independent line. hi. caller: if -- would live here, this would not be happening. do you know who i mean? soros, the devil himself. host: next call is marion hawthorne, california, democrat. hi, mary. caller: hello? host: are you with this? you are on c-span. please make your comment about the indictment of former president trump. host: caller:

i'm axle he surprised that happened today because it was supposed to happen on tuesday. he cap saying it was going to happen on tuesday. -- h e kept saying it was going to happen on tuesday and then nothing happened and nothing happened and i heard that they were going, the grand jury was not going to do anything until the end of april, that they were going to go on a break or something. and then today, all of a sudden i read he was indicted. i'm actually really happy about it. no one's above the law. and it is about time that something gets done. and they move forward with this. i hope the house stays out of it because i do not think they have the right to interfere with what the manhattan d.a. is doing. they need to stay out of it. host: two days ago as it was announced that the grand jury would not be seated again until late april. this came as a bit of surprise to all of us. c.j. is another democrat. kansas city, missouri. host:

caller: hi. well, it is about time. all of the crimes that donald trump has done. i wish america, the republicans or the magas, stop drinking the kool-aid and face facts. they are living in this alternative society where whatever he does is not against the law. he's a criminal. look at how any laws he has broken. -- how many laws he has broken. how many times as president would be say, this is unprecedented. we need a real president like joe biden, someone with honor, dignity, that is not corrupt, that is not a criminal. it is about time. and that is all i have to say. all your callers that have been coming on have been, oh it's a witch hunt. we do not know the facts. we assume the fact that it is a hush money payment but we don't

know. we don't know. he has been indicted, it is about time because -- the teflon is coming off of the pan. he's about to pay the price. no one is above the law. and he should be held accountable for the crimes and the things that he has done. now, and look, even the intimidation. this is a former president acting like a thug holding up a baseball bat against the head of the attorney general. well, the prosecuting attorney, alvin bragg. that is just on thing about. uncouth, low class, nothing, it is just horrible. so, that is what i feel. it is about time. we're waiting for the other three from georgia, from washington with the stolen documents. how are you going to take documents because you want to?

he's supposed to abide by -- he is president, not a king. january 6th that should have been the straw that broke the back right there. he order that -- that big crowd to kill -- this was a violent crowd. all because of him because he told them the big lie that he had won when he himself new he did not win. he got whatever he got coming for him. host: that is c.j. in kansas city, missouri. up next from new jersey, hamburg, new jersey, republican line. caller: hi. this is, hi, this is rita from hamburg, new jersey. my husband is jack, a vietnam veteran, disabled. we are both america's. we're born in this country, but i am telling you, the hate for president trump, the hate for president trump is pure

antisemitism. and i'm waiting for somebody to say. i am not a computer person. i have been watching this going on for years. the hate for president trump started not when he was going to run for president. but in 1980's when he was with oprah winfrey and she said, are you going to run for president someday? and president trump at that time he wasn't president, he was donald trump and he said, we will see what goes on but if i feel that nothing is happening and they need me, i would step in. and that's the day, that is the day when they -- president trump. one other thing i have to tell you. i'm also a daughter of a holocaust survivor. my dad was in munch housing. 300,000 people were murdered. 1200 survive, one of them was my dad, martin. he died about seven years ago. he told me, don't be stupid.

i do not want to have stupid daughters. if you do not think that could not happen in america, it could, especially when the economy is bad. and people look for a scapegoat. you be smart, that is what my father taught me and i have been following politics since i am eight. i'm going to be 68 in may. one other thing i must tell you and then i will go. host: i apologized we are going to leave it there and we very much appreciate your calling in and sharing some of your story and your views on this indictment. larry in louisville, democrat, what is your take on this initial indictment of president trump? caller: i was hoping that would -- it would have come sooner. however, since it is now, hopefully we will deal with it honestly, above the --

above board, giving all due respect to his position. but not putting his position above the law. there are people that have done other things that they should not have been able to do. this man openly defied other administrators, others in positions of authority. he outlandishly put the vice president's life in danger. and i'm afraid i would have to say he is a bad pimple to the office of the presidency. good-bye.

host: that is larry. carol is next, in jonesboro, arkansas, republican line. caller: good evening. god, there are so many things i would like to say. but one thing that i would like to remind all the democrats. republicans that represent president trump are not brainwashed. we don't drink the kool-aid. but one thing is, when president trump was elected him and his family that worked in the white house did not take any tax dollars while they worked for the people. for four years. then, as all y'all have done anyone that has hated on the

trumps, y'all have made their lives miserable. ya'll have went after them. for no reason. no. in our lifetime, nothing is free. if you want something, you have to work for it. but when biden got in office, that's all he's done is handed out everything for free. host: carol, before we get too far off the topic, our topic tonight, of course, is the indictment by the new york grand jury of president donald trump, an historic first. the indictment or indictments remain sealed. the next steps are not quite clear. alvin bragg, the district attorney in manhattan, sent out this tweet at about, oh, about 7:30 this evening. "this evening we contacted mr.

trump's attorney to coordinate his surrender to the manhattan d.a.'s office for arraignment on a supreme court indictment which remains under seal. guidance will be provided when the arraignment date is selected." that is all we've heard so far from the district attorney bragg. darren in lincoln, arkansas, on or independent line. what's your take on what happened tonight? caller: my take is that the truth don't lie. and that let it, let it rip. go in there, because if you got nothing to hide, you hide nothing at all. if trump is that good, and everybody has this kind of opinion because of social media, and they don't know nothing. they just know what they hear

and what they want to believe. and i just honestly believe that he's dodged too many bullets and he is going to hit one. it's just a matter of time. and he, everybody in washington is a crook. it doesn't matter if it is republican or democrat or independent. they are crooks. if they got a job in washington. that's all i got to say. host: thank you for calling in. teresa in connecticut, republican, what is your take? caller: my take is this. any president could have been up on charges, that's number one. i'd like to say that i think donald trump should not be prosecuted. we need to look at the good and bad in everybody. i am a nurse practitioner. i worked through the pandemic

and cared for 160 covid patients. i was -- this person had been around so long but i was the only nurse who did not get covid at the height of the covid debacle. and i was so impressed how donald trump got vaccines put through, and i was the first one in line. i need to tell you. host: i apologized. we're just talking about the indictment tonight. the fact alvin bragg ha left his offices. and we will show you that, as we continue to talk to you, but give us your 10 second take on this indictment by the new york grand jury. caller: i think it is ridiculous. i think that, as i said before, you need to look at the good and bad in everybody. and no president or ex-president

should be indicted for something that's so ridiculous as paying off some prostitute, because of that was the case, then kennedy should of been prosecuted. and clinton should have been prosecuted. and anybody else. host: thank you, ma'am, for calling in. marie, out in california. caller: yes, it is. host: give us your take on tonight's development. caller: it is a wonderful day. allen bragg got 23 people from all different areas of new york. and read all the information. heard all the information, heard all the testimony. saw all the witnesses. it's not something that just a. out of nowhere -- just appeared out of nowhere and having these republicans, especially the

house speaker, make these horrible comments, horrible comments. he did his job. these others did what was given to them and he decided that it needed to be, he needed to be prosecuted. it's a wonderful day. i -- i love you station. rhost: chuck schumer, majority leader, democrat, new york, said it, his statement once again." mr. trump is subject to the same laws as every american, he will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, determine his fate according to the facts and the law. there should be no outside political influence and intimidation or interference in the case. i encourage both mr. trump's critics and supporters to let

the process proceed peacefully and according to the law." here's the speaker of the house, kevin mccarthy, republican. quote " alvin bragg has irreparably damaged our country in an attempted to interfere in our presidential election. as he routinely frees violent criminals to terrorize the public, he weaponized are sacred system of justice against president donald trump. the american people will not tolerate this injustice and the house of representatives will hold alvin bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account." now, the house of representatives went out of session today. they will be out for two weeks' recess, over the passover and easter holiday, so we will not see the house in session for about two weeks. same with the senate. next call, eli, iowa city, iowa.

democrats line. caller: h ow you doing? so, personally, i think that, it is a good thing trump is going to be arrested, arraigned,. but i think that overall this is a really sad for america that a former president is being indicted. and i think the larger problem here is that we're going to see violence motivated by trump, by the republican party. and it's important to recognize the fact that you cannot blame the people of jonestown for jim jones' killing them. you cannot blame the actions entirely of trump's cult of personality when they have been deceived for so long. i think that the other glaring issue with this is that it is going to be used as a divider of the proletariat class and of

lower class and middle class citizens. it's just going to be used to divide us, so that we can continue fighting each other. host: are you associated with the university in iowa city? caller: i graduate in may. host: what if you been studying for the past four years? caller: political science. host: what do you want to do with that degree? caller: i plan to get my masters and then working for like political consulting or writing like political op-eds. host: and you have called on the democrats line. are you a democrat? caller: i vote democrat. i would consider myself to be a socialist. host: thank you, sir, for calling in and congratulations on your graduation. brandon is in michigan, democrats lines. go ahead, brandon. caller: all right, personally, t o see trump get indicted, i

think there were more serious things i would like to see him indicted on, i.e., like his phone call in georgia or anything regarding january 6th. but i don't we will see anything from scotus on that. i think, it is small potatoes. i think there's biggest things -- bigger things they could have gone after him for. they shall have held out more. facts don't care about your feelings. when it is this egregious and he is committing this many crimes, and this brazen about it, -- it's bound to happen, he is bound to get caught. this was bound to happen. it would be cool to see him not to see him not surrender and do a perp walk, but i do not think we will get that. host: brandon, thanks for calling in. in "the new york times" there is an article entitled "here the legal intricacies that could

make or break the case against trump." it breaks down what could possibly be the case against him, in case you're interested. it is in "the new york times." "here are the legal intricacies that could make or break the case against trump." next call is april in california. democrat. april, you are on c-span. caller: hello. i am so happy. this is one of the days i've been looking forward to since trump took office. i have been watching him take invented -- take advantage since the early 1980's, his whole family -- are crooks. and he needs to pay for what he has done to this country. no president has been perfect but this one has probably been the worst one in history of the nation. thank you for having me. host: thank you for calling. richard in louisville, republican line.

richard, you are on c-span. what is your take on today's developments and the indictment? caller: it is a bunch of hooey. nothing is going to come from it. you had the people worried about -- what's he going to do? he's going to go to new york. he's going to go to that front door where bragg's been running in it out, he is going to turn around and give a thumbs-up and smile at all the cameras and he is going to say, give it your best shot. here's my question to c-span and it is about the indictment. and how they've been able to do whatever they want. they say you can indict a ham sandwich. but our politicians have always been respectful bout the -- a bout the law. these type of arrangements that trump made with these girls, that kind of stuff goes on every day.

look, i don't want you to say anything, here's some money, keep quiet. it goes on every day. but this d.a. chose, after federal prosecutors said, there is nothing here, we're going to move on, this guy decided that, hey, i think i can put something together. and he run on it. he hopes to be governor of new york one day. hey, hey. i get it. do whatever you can. hell, trump does the same thing. he's taking ron desantis and smeared him all over the floor. host: all right, we are going to leave it there. we appreciate it. president trump at about 6:30 this evening, put out a statement from mar-a-lago. it begins, this is political persecution and election interference at the highest levels in history. this statement is available on the c-span.org website which is also, has new york one

simulcasting. you can watch new york one live on the c-span.org website. also, if you want to continue this conversation, you can do so on her social media sites. remember@c-span on facebook or twitter, etc. very quickly, fred in central city, kentucky. the last voice tonight, democrats. go ahead. caller: yes. my thing about the indictment is that it's been way too long coming. donald trump has gotten away with so much from the 1980's up until now. and i think the threat he's making against alvin bragg, the district attorney, is a lot of intimidation tactics that he usually tries to pull. but the point of the matter is, no one is above the law. even an ex-president, president running for office, whatever, nobody is above the law.

he should respect that. so should the republican caucus. they should respect the law. they say that the democrats had the fbi in the doj weaponized. no, they know how to weaponize. they are doing the jobs is what the republicans should be doing. they don't need to be involved in this case, because this is going to go on for -- host: thank you, that is fred in central city, kentucky. this conversation will continue tomorrow morng on "the waington journal" beginning at 7 m., three hours of your calls on the indictment a former president trump. thanks being with us-- for being with us this evening. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2023] >> c-span is your unfiltered view of and they don't need to be involved in this case because it is an ongoing trial.